US Senator Richard Blumenthal this week told Newtown Action Alliance members that although recent proposed federal legislation to expand criminal background checks for gun purchasers failed to win approval, the matter will return to the Senate for another vote.

“We’re not done,” Sen Blumenthal said of the drive for better gun control through federal legislation.

Recently, a friend sent a Facebook link from the Washington Examiner entitled: “Obama Should Blame Tea Party, Not NRA, For Gun Control Defeat.” He asked for my opinion. I thought about it for a while before I responded because I wanted to be precise. I was grateful for both the article, and for the solicitation of my feelings. My own thoughts became more clarified as I wrote the following (slightly edited) response:

Vincent J. Russo, manager of communications and intergovernmental relations for the Office of the Probate Court Administrator of Connecticut has issued an announcement that the Probate Courts “expect to complete work this summer on a new database for use by state and federal authorities in checking the mental health backgrounds of citizens who seek to buy or own firearms.”

What is it which makes some people and judges believe that the Second Amendment in our Constitution gives everybody the right to bear arms? What does it really mean when it ties the right to bear arms to the need of a militia? There is no militia and there is no more need for a militia than for an armed mob, whether patriots or otherwise. Let us look if there is really a similar armed group existing today, the need for one, and whether a militia is really only an anachronism, a relic from a time long past.

The Sandy hook massacre may be off the front pages, but I would like to remind the voters of Newtown that of our four local legislators, only Dan Carter, Republican, Second District, voted No against the excellent gun control law Connecticut legislators and Governor Malloy signed into law.

Representative Carter, whom do you represent? Voters put you in office to represent your constituents. Ninety percent of the public want some gun control.

WASHINGTON – A push by the White House and lobbying by the parents of children massacred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School failed Wednesday to convince the Senate to consider a relatively modest gun-control measure: An expansion of background checks for firearms purchases.

“All in all, this was a pretty shameful day for Washington,” said an emotional President Obama, standing in the Rose Garden with Sandy Hook families.